The Tri-Valley Mustangs hosted the Mt Vernon/Plankinton Titans in a doubleheader on Thursday, January 6th.  The Titans got a win in both games.  They won the girls game 64-37, and the Titan boys won 40-31.

Mt Vernon/Plankinton 64, Tri-Valley 37 – Girls

With about three minutes to go in the first quarter, the game was tied at 13-13.  Mt Vernon/Plankinton then went on a 23-0 run over the next eight minutes.  The Titans finished the first quarter leading 24-13.  The run continued into the second quarter and was finally snapped with three minutes to go in the half.  The Titans led 38-19 at halftime.  Mt Vernon/Plankinton continued to shoot the ball well in the second half and played strong defense.  The Titans grew their lead to 56-28 by the end of the third quarter.

Tri-Valley shot 35% (16-46) in the game, 16% (3-19) on three pointers, and was 2-6 from the free-throw line.  The Titans, meanwhile, shot 48% (26-54), 7-10 from three-point area, and 5-10 from the free-throw line.

Paige Jewett had 14 points and three assists.  Ava Pearson finished with eight points, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots.  Lauren Grinde added six points, four rebounds, and two assists.  Stephanie Buchmann had five points, three rebounds, and two assists.

Mt Vernon/Plankinton 40, Tri-Valley 31 – Boys

The boys game was very physical throughout the entire contest.  The physical play caused problems for both offenses as the two teams both finished shooting under 30% in the game.  The Mustangs held the lead through three quarters of play.  Tri-Valley led 11-8 at the end of the first quarter and then 22-18 at halftime.  The Titans tied the game 25-25 with 4:00 to go in the third quarter, but Tri-Valley held a 29-28 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.  Unfortunately, that’s when the Mustangs went cold offensively.  They made only one field goal in the last quarter, which came with just :50 to play.

The Mustangs shot 23% (12-52) from the field, 25% (5-20) from three-point area, and just 2-5 from the free-throw line.  The Titans took advantage of their trips to the free-throw line as almost half of their points in the game were scored from there.  Mt Vernon/Plankinton finished the game shooting 28% (11-40) from the field, did not make a three-pointer, but went 18-31 from the free-throw line.

Lance DeWitt had eight points, four rebounds, and four assists.  Riley Carlson finished with eight points and two steals.  Cole Focken also tied for the team-high eight points and also had a steal.  Owen Besmer had four points, five rebounds, and two blocks.  Brayden Oyen had three points and seven rebounds.  Connor Christensen had a team-high 11 rebounds.

The Vermillion Tanagers hosted the Tri-Valley Mustang girls and basketball teams in a doubleheader on Tuesday, December 21st.  The Tanagers won both games.  Tri-Valley girls lost 47-37, and the boys team lost 70-35.

Vermillion 47, Tri-Valley 37 – Girls

After falling behind 15-2 early in the second quarter, the Tri-Valley Mustangs couldn’t get out of that hole.  The Mustangs pulled within seven points, 15-8, with 5:00 to play in the second quarter, but Vermillion pushed the lead back to 13 by halftime, 23-10.

Tri-Valley got the deficit down to single digits at 29-20 with 1:00 to play in the third quarter.  But again the Tanagers extended the lead back to 13 points by the end of the quarter, 33-20.  That lead grew to a game-high 17 points, 39-22, with 6:00 to play in the game.  Tri-Valley couldn’t get any closer than the 10 points at the end of the game.

The Mustangs were led by Lauren Grinde with 11 points and Maddie Wenzel with eight points.

Vermillion 70, Tri-Valley 35 – Boys

The Vermillion Tanager boys shot over 50% beyond the arc, and the defense forced 26 Tri-Valley turnovers in their 70-35 win over the Mustangs.  Vermillion led 16-8 at the end of the first quarter, and the lead continued to grow each quarter.  Tri-Valley trailed 33-20 at halftime and 49-26 at the end of the third quarter.

The Mustangs shot 33% (13-40) from the field, 33% (3-9) from three-point area, and 75% (6-8) from the free-throw line.  Vermillion finished 43% (27-63), 53% (9-17) on three-pointers, and 54% (7-13) from the free-throw line.  The Tanagers had 12 steals and 29 rebounds, while Tri-Valley had six steals and 27 rebounds.

Cory McDonald finished the game with 12 points, four rebounds, two steals, and two assists.  Brayden Oyen had nine points, two rebounds, and two assists.  Connor Christensen added five points, 10 rebounds, and three blocked shots.  Lance DeWitt had four points.

The Mustang girls will host Garretson in a make-up game on Tuesday, December 28th.

The Tri-Valley Mustang girls and boys basketball teams hosted the Chester Flyers in the first home doubleheader of the 2021-2022 season on Friday, December 17th.  The girls took the win over the Flyers 66-45.  The Mustang boys lost 42-36.

Tri-Valley 66, Chester 45 – Girls

The Mustangs started fast and held an early 8-1 lead in the first quarter.  Chester then had an 8-0 run to take a 9-8 lead.  The Mustangs finished the quarter on an 9-3 run for a 17-12 lead after the first quarter.  Chester regained the lead 25-24, but again Tri-Valley went on a run.  The Mustangs closed the half on a 9-2 run for a 33-27 halftime lead.

Tri-Valley then had a big third quarter.  The Mustangs outscored the Flyers 22-7 in the third quarter for a 55-34 lead heading into the fourth quarter.  The two teams both scored 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Tri-Valley was 32% (24-74) from the field, 18% (5-28) from three-point area, and 59% (13-22) from the free-throw line.  Chester shot just 23% (12-52) from the field, 25% (5-20) from three-point area, but 67% (16-24) from the free-throw line.  The Mustangs forced 20 turnovers, including 15 steals.

Paige Jewett had 22 points and three rebounds.  Lauren Grinde had 12 points, seven assists, five rebounds, and five steals.  Ava Pearson had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.  Madelyn Wenzel added 10 points and seven rebounds.  Steph Buchmann ended with nine points, six rebounds, and three assists.

Chester 42, Tri-Valley 36 – Boys

The Mustangs held a 10-point lead late in the third quarter, but the Flyers pulled off the comeback for a 42-36 win.  Tri-Valley led 5-0 early, but Chester went on a 9-0 run for a 9-5 lead.  The Mustangs cut the lead down to 12-11 by the end of the first quarter.  Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter, and Tri-Valley led 18-15 at halftime.

After Chester scored the first three points of the third quarter to tie the game 18-18, Tri-Valley went on a 10-0 run for a 28-18 lead.  The Mustangs led 31-21 with 1:00 to play in the third quarter.  The Flyers comeback started by scoring the final four points of the third quarter to make the score 31-25.  Chester then outscored Tri-Valley 17-5 in the final quarter for the win.

Tri-Valley shot just 25% (14-56) from the field, 23% (7-31) from three-point area, and just 1-5 on free-throws.  The Fyers were 32% (15-47) from the field, 27% (4-15) from three-point area, and 50% (8-16) from the free-throw line.

Cory McDonald had 14 points, three rebounds, and two assists.  Lance DeWitt finished with eight points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals.  Noah Haynes had four points, 15 rebounds, and three steals.  Connor Christensen had four points and three rebounds.  Brayden Oyen had three points, and Owen Besmer finished with two points and six rebounds.